


Intemperance

by GreyLiliy



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama, F/M, Gen, Homunculus Maes Hughes, Horror, M/M, Possessive Behavior, Slow Burn, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2008-01-12
Updated: 2009-12-18
Packaged: 2019-10-01 00:59:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17234438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreyLiliy/pseuds/GreyLiliy
Summary: Stuck in central thanks to Mustang, Edward finds himself working a case of human transmutation gone wrong. The side effects of that transmutation seem to be more than anyone expected, especially when it begins to target Roy Mustang.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First posted on my Fanfiction.net account on January 12, 2008 and while I don’t know the dates of everything in between, Chapter 6 was posted on December 18, 2009. Crossposted to Archive of Our Own on December 30, 2018. Original Author’s notes have been kept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been wanting to put this story plot into action for a long time now, and my FMA kick finally demanded that I go through with it. I'm excited to get it out onto paper even if my other fics are being ignored for the moment. As far as the Ed x Roy, that's on a whim. Don't expect anything too drastic until the end; I want the plot to take precedence. In any case, Thanks for reading and reviewing!
> 
> Pairings: Eventual Ed x Roy, Gracia x Roy & Other pairings.
> 
> Notes: Semi-AU Universe. As the canon FMA timeline is rather constricting, for this fiction canon events will only apply up through the events in Dublith. For the AU, instead of continuing up to Liore, Edward returns to Central.

"What are you doing down there, Fullmetal?"

Ed jumped slightly at the intruding voice and stood up in a jerky motion. He quickly brushed himself off and tried to pretend like he hadn't been caught off guard. It's not like he was doing anything to be jumpy about. "Nothing. What's it to you, Colonel?"

Mustang shifted his bag of groceries to the left side of his waist to see Edward Elric standing before him before shrugging. He had been on his way home from the store and happened to come across his most troublesome subordinate squatting on the sidewalk peering around a wall corner like some sort of stalker. Mustang smirked; it was only his duty as his commanding officer to see what was going on with Fullmetal. Especially when he was too embarrassed to not respond to the 'down there' comment with his usual height ranting. "Well, you were scrunched down on the sidewalk peering around the side wall. Is it wrong to find out what my subordinates are up to?"

Ed frowned slightly; that was hard logic to argue. But it was still none of the bastard's business what he was doing. Ed snorted and crossed his arms. "I wasn't doing anything illegal if you're worried about your reputation."

"I figured that much. I guess I'll just see for myself, than." Mustang shook his head and walked closer to Fullmetal. He let his grocery bag fall into one arm and leaned over and around the blonde boy to see what he was looking at so intently. He smiled softly at the sight and looked down at the slightly blushing face. "You know, Fullmetal. It's not like anyone's going to pick on you if you went over and watched the street performer closer. There are plenty of adults hanging back behind the children."

Ed snarled and fought off the embarrassment. He was only watching the man out of boredom; that was it! He was studying his technique to balance and juggle at the same time. Research is what it was. "Who said I was looking at that in the first place! Maybe I was just sitting there..." Ed trailed off for a moment. He finished his sentence in a sudden shout a moment later. "Thinking! Yeah, thinking about life." Ed pushed at Mustang's chest that was still in his face from leaning over him. "Now step back! You're crowding me!"

Mustang didn't move from his spot, but shifted just enough to prevent from touching the younger man. He suddenly got a smirk on his face. "Afraid I'll squish you? You are rather-"

"I'm not small!" Ed screamed before the Colonel could even get the height insult out. He was not in the mood today to deal with the other man. In fact, Ed decided to just change the subject and hope the other man would take a hint and leave. "What are you doing anyway? Don't you have to be at work or something?"

"The work day ends at five. It's well past then, Fullmetal." Mustang laughed. It was just like Fullmetal to lose track of time so easily. "And if you must know, I just went shopping." He rustled the grocery bag for emphasis. "But I would have thought that was obvious."

"Oh shut up." Edward frowned and turned his back to the older man and crossed his arms. It was bad enough Mustang was forcing him to stay in Central after all the chaos in Dublith. Edward did not need the Colonel stalking his every move, too. That Archer guy questioning him about Teacher and Wrath made it even worse. "It's not like I was paying that much attention."

Roy shook his head and took a step back. Fullmetal was agitated more than usual and was fidgeting in place. It made the older alchemist curious. Being stationed in Central until things were sorted out couldn't be bothering him that much. Roy was about to comment when he finally noticed something very odd about Fullmetal. "Where's Alphonse? Normally you two are joined at the hip."

"None of your business!" Edward shouted and stuck his hands on his hips. There was no way in hell he was telling Mustang that Alphonse kicked him out of the dorms for being too moody. Alphonse was mumbling some nonsense about Edward needing a break from study and getting some fresh air. It was worse that Alphonse agreed with the Colonel about staying in Central for a while to cool their heads and get a game plan together after everything they'd learnt about Greed. Ed wanted out; not to stay cooped up in some military dorm. "So just leave me alone."

"So you're alone then?"

"I think that would be obvious."

Mustang almost grimaced having his own line thrown back at him, but he decided to chose his battles. Instead, he'd just take advantage of this opportunity to get on Ed's good side. The rift between them had only gotten larger since Fullmetal found out about Hughes' passing. He still hadn't forgiven Roy for keeping it from him for so long. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Huh?" Ed stared blankly at the taller man smiling at him. It was a friendly sort of smile he'd seen the man flash at Hawkeye on occasion. To be honest it was freaking Ed out just a little to see that look on Mustang directed at him. "Uh, no?"

"Would you like dinner with me since you're all by yourself? I have all these groceries and it's just me at home. I think company would be nice, don't you?" Roy made sure to keep his voice even and smile in place. It was no secret that Fullmetal was less than thrilled with his presence on a normal basis. If Roy wanted to bridge that gap and fully bring Fullmetal into the team with Hawkeye, Havoc, and the others- he needed to play his cards right. However, at the moment Fullmetal was staring at Roy as if he had two heads. "What do you say?"

Ed's stomach growled on cue and he watched Mustang's smile start turning into a smirk. Now Ed had lost his 'I'm not hungry' excuse. However, Ed did see some rather nice looking pieces of fruit hanging just above the top of the bag; suffering through an evening with the bastard Colonel was equivalent exchange for a free meal, right? "I should probably call Al and tell him I'll be late."

"Great, you can call from my place." Mustang smiled and started walking again down the street. Fullmetal followed him after a moment and he could hear the steady clicking of his Auto-mail at every other step. "What would you like to eat?"

"You're letting me pick?"

"You're the guest, Fullmetal."

"Well, what do you have?"

"How about you tell me what you want and I'll see what I can do?"

"How am I supposed to ask for something if I don't know what you have to make it with?"

"No need to get angry, Fullmetal." Roy chuckled lightly at the younger man's pouting face. The frustration was almost cute. "What do you like to eat? It's a simple question, Fullmetal. Even if I can't make it today, I might be able to put it away for a later date."

Ed trotted alongside Mustang quietly as he considered his options. He looked up at the other man and looked for any sort of trick behind those dark eyes. Not finding any malice or manipulations, Ed finally muttered out a tiny request. Reluctantly. Its' not like he needed to ask for anything from Mustang, after all. "Stew."

It was a very quiet response considering it came from Fullmetal, but Roy heard it clear enough. He looked down into his bag and took stock of the items. He had been planning to make some stir fry in the Wok Hawkeye got him for his birthday but he could adjust. "Stew, huh? I think I can manage that."

"Really?"

Roy almost had to pause at Fullmetal's face. His eyes were lit up and he had a hopeful expression that seemed to spread out over his entire body. For the first time, Roy thought Edward truly looked his age and it made the older man smile. There was a youthful innocence there that Roy wanted to protect. "Yes, really. I even have some beef in this bag I'm carrying."

"Yeah!" Edward cheered in a controlled sort of glee. There was no way the stew the bastard Colonel made would be as good as Teacher's or his Mom's. But it was stew. Stew was the best. "How soon until we get to your place?"

"Another five minutes or so." Roy smiled softly. He had his reservations at first, but the way things were looking it should be a pleasant dinner. "Come on then, let's go before your stomach devours your body trying to get to the non-made stew."

"Shut up!"

The response was playful and Roy found himself laughing. He definitely should have approached Fullmetal sooner.

* * *

There was blood everywhere.

Envy frowned at the scene before him as he walked confidently into the room. Humans who attempted human transmutations always paid a price at the gate, but this poor soul not only paid a price but ended up splattered amongst all the walls. This alchemist didn't have the luxury to wallow in the guilt of his sins. He got a one-way ticket straight to hell.

His Sin, was currently writhing on the floor in the middle of a smudged transmutation circle; a bulging, squirming pile of flesh and bones.

Envy was surprised to run across this scene by accident, really. He had been stalking around on his own in downtown central and caught sight of the transmutation in the corner of his eye. The light of a Human Transmutation is distinct and called his curiosity. The androgynous homunculus squat down before the wheezing concoction of flesh and poked it. "Well, well. Aren't you a poor little thing?"

A sunken eye turned up out of what looked like the skull towards the taunting man. It took a pained breath and moaned in its agony. Everything was excruciating pain.

"Are you hungry?" Envy pulled out a handful of red stones he carried with him for just such an occasion and shook them in his palm enticingly. He wasn't sure what was possessing him to help this creature, but he did so anyway. Envy guessed it was just curious to see what would come from the mass. Maybe it would be the new Greed. "They're yummy."

The newly born creation let out an unearthly squeal of pain as the other being shoved the red rocks into his mouth with enough force to press him into the ground. The stones seemed to melt on his tongue and the beast was swallowing on instinct. The changes that followed in its anatomy felt like fires being lit on every inch of its' form. Bits of flesh stuck together and started to take form, but stopped soon enough. However, the creature's awareness of his surroundings was increasing; he even knew that his form was incomplete.

He needed more of those stones.

Envy laughed as a newly formed hand groped at his skirt and pulled. It was trying to drag itself over to him. How darling. "Do you want more?" Envy kicked the hand from his person and smirked down. "Than stay there like a good little monster and I'll be back."

The form on the ground clawed at the ground and tried to turn itself upright as the other in black walked away. The hunger for more stones to finish his form was gnawing at its insides. Telling it to move and take them by force, but some other voice disagreed. The quieter voice reminded him of the benefits of patience and listening. Waiting. So it would wait. Wait for the stranger to come back with more stones.

The creature's rasped breaths echoed in the empty, destroyed room.

* * *

"Welcome back, Brother." Al chirped from his seat in the corner of the dorm. He had a few alchemy books pulled open and spread around him as he studied. Without Brother around, Al had gotten a chance to read up on some personal books for a change. He love spending time with Ed, but sometimes even Al wanted a few moments to himself. The suit of armor closed the book in his lap softly before setting it on the table and turning to Ed. "How was dinner with the Colonel?"

"It wasn't as bad as I thought." Ed shrugged out of his red coat and boots to collapse onto the bed. He stretched out his entire body like a sunbathing cat and listened to the joints in his back crack before collapsing into the sheets limply. "He made stew."

"I bet that was good." Al laughed. "You like stew no matter who makes it."

"That's because you can't mess stew up." Ed nodded and yawned into his hand. Ed hadn't meant to stay at the Colonels so long-just eat the stew and leave. But somehow he ended up staying for a couple hours after they ate just talking and playing games and stuff. That Colonel was sneaky. For a full moment, Edward didn't suspect anything off about Mustang and actually enjoyed his company. Ed was almost fooled into thinking the other man cared. "Did you have fun all by yourself?"

"Yes, it was quiet." Al snickered as Ed popped up from the bed and glared. Al twitched and chose to change the subject before the good mood was ruined. "So, what did you do at the Colonel's other than eating stew? You were gone for close to three hours."

"Huh? Not much." Ed shrugged. "We played cards and talked. He was telling me about a few leads on the stone, but thought I should hold off on looking into them for a while. Something about waiting for the right moment. I think he's just trying to keep us trapped at central."

"He's just looking out for us, Brother."

"You mean looking out for himself." Ed rolled over to the window. The Colonel may have been nice today, but Edward wasn't stupid. The actions of the 'Fullmetal Alchemist' reflected back upon Colonel Mustang. He was just trying to keep Ed on a short leash. Nothing more. "I'm going to sleep."

"Brother." Al trailed off while looking at that slim back. He really hoped Ed didn't believe the things he said about the Colonel. Al liked to think he was a good judge of character, and Colonel Mustang always gave off a fatherly vibe to him. Just, a father fond of 'tough-love'; that's all. "Good night."

* * *

"Well look at you." Envy stood with his arms crossed among the back wall and watched his new project intently. After sneaking a huge swarm of red stones from Dante and the others to hurry along the progression of his newfound discovery, a few weeks later he found himself staring at a fully formed homunculus. Envy smirked at it and chuckled. It would be more fun if he kept _this_ one a secret for now. "Doesn't that feel better?"

The man licked the last of the stones from his palm, retracing his tongue along the junction of his wrist and palm to get every last trace of the living energy. Envy, as the other had introduced himself, had said these stones were made from human lives. Not that the now-fully formed monster cared. All he knew, was that now with a belly full of sloshing red stones the pain was gone and his head was clear. The stones were already created; whether or not he ate them – the humans would still be dead. The monster was making use of them and making sure those souls didn't go to waste. They provided him with a complete, fully functioning form.

And now he could think.

And he _remembered_.

"What do you want from me?"

Envy smirked at the question directed at him. The elder sin took a good look at the newest addition to the artificial humans and the red ouroboros tattooed into the back of its hand and smirked. "I just want to watch the fun, Greed. That's all the payment I need if you were wondering what you owed me for those little rocks."

"Greed?" A slender eyebrow rose and he took in Envy's lanky gait as he walked closer. The taller man narrowed his eyes as Envy came closer and closer. Instinct told him to lash out at the other man; but the part of his brain that could process the situation told him to hold off.

Envy stopped a few feet from the man and poked him in the chest in the middle of a trademark red line that so man of the homunculus shared. He trailed his finer down the chest and back up again with a cruel smirk. "That's your name. You're the new Greed."

"What happened to the old one?"

"He was killed." Envy shrugged and removed his hand from the new Greed. "Not that I care."

"Greed." The name sounded both comfortable and disgusting on his tongue at the same time as he repeated it. Part of him accepted it as his new form, but memories of being called by another, more fitting name, prevented him from fully accepting it. It was a puzzle he would have to figure out in due time when he could get more information. "And what am I than to have such a name?"

"You're a homunculus. An artificial human created by the sin of a pathetic mortal trying to play god. An empty, soulless shell masquerading as human." Envy smirked as with every punctuated syllable the other's eyes would narrow. "Easy as that."

"So the same as you?" Greed smirked. "We're a sin?"

"Exact-where are you going?" Envy frowned as the man started to walk away from him. He was hoping to have a little more fun at the new-born's expense.

"To see for myself."

"See what?"

"None of your concern." With that, Greed walked out the door leaving Envy at his place. He was grateful the other homunculus chose not to follow or pick a fight. Greed had too much to accomplish to worry about dealing with petty, unimportant individuals.

He had bigger goals.

* * *

"What do you mean I can't go to Liore?" Edward slammed his fist down onto the Colonel's desk. "You can't keep me in Central forever. It's been weeks!"

Roy massaged his forehead as the boy yelled at him. He wasn't quite ready yet to tell Ed about the uprisings in Liore just yet and the boy already wanted to run out to the city to look up some rumor about the Philosopher's stone. "I told you, Edward. No. I need you here."

"Doing what?" Ed snarled. "I've done nothing but study in the library."

"It's called being 'On-call' in case I need you at a moment's notice, Fullmetal." Roy frowned. At first, keeping Ed in Central and out of trouble was easy enough. But the boy was getting cabin fever and Roy was running out of ideas. "It's part of that 'Dog of the Military' thing you agreed to follow."

"This is bull shit!"

"Colonel Mustang, Sir?" Hawkeye wrapped on the doorframe of the inner office with a small folder in her hand. Edward and the Colonel both looked stressed and exhausted after a thirty minute shouting match, but the Lieutenant did her best to pretend she didn't notice. "This just came from General Hakuro's desk. He wants you to look into it."

Roy took the folder from his Lieutenant wordlessly and started to flip through the pages. Fullmetal was starting to fume at him silently for being ignored momentarily, but that was alright. If Hawkeye interrupted his meeting to deliver it, the notes had to be important. Roy smirked suddenly. "For example, Fullmetal. I need you to go check out this assignment as soon as possible."

Ed stared at the folder shoved across the desk at him and he picked it up tenderly as it if would burn him. His eyes widened when he got a good look at the pictures and descriptions inside the document. It all looked very familiar and he could feel his gut clenching. "Human transmutation."

"Apparently someone tried it and it rebounded badly enough to splatter them across their apartment. It's fairly secluded as they thing this happened a few weeks ago and they're only just now noticing it. I want you to go there and find out who it was and what he was doing. Also, find out if he were working with anyone else so we can stop them from attempting the same. Write up a full report as soon as you're done."

Ed nodded and closed the folder after memorizing the address. For once, the Colonel gave him an assignment he was more than happy to take. Edward had no qualms with beating some sense into other idiots who made the same mistakes. Plus, Ed needed to make sure that a rebound was all that occurred. Edward didn't' even want to think of what the consequences would be if this was an attempted resurrection.

"You're dismissed, Fullmetal." Roy waited for the boy to leave before letting out a huge sigh and slouching into his seat. That boy was going to be the death of him, he just knew it. Roy cracked a heavy eye open to look at a disapproving Lieutenant. "Is there a problem?"

"Are you sure you should be assigning him to this case?"

"Fullmetal knows more about it than any of us, Hawkeye." Roy closed his eyes again. "Besides, it's mostly a clean up and research job. How bad could it be?"

"If I recall, those are famous last words. Sir."

"So they are." Roy laughed and wiped a hand down his face. That would be his luck, but for now, he let his faith lie with Fullmetal.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're a returning reader, you might have noticed the edit to the pairing list on the first chapter. The Ed x Roy was always intended to be one-sided and inspiration struck soon after for the secondary main pairing. It happens to work quite nicely with what I have planned for this fiction, so I went with it.
> 
> Thanks for reading and reviewing!

"Could you direct me to Colonel Mustang's office?" Gracia Hughes asked the soldier sitting at the front desk while brushing her bangs behind her ears. Gracia had a basket hanging off of her arm and was trying to smile politely despite being nervous. It had taken her close to a week to get up the nerve to come visit on her own. "It's been a while since I visited his section of the office and I'm not quite sure if I remember where it is."

"Of course, Mrs. Hughes." The corporal nodded happily before explaining the directions and drawing a quick map. "Will that be all? Would you like me to ring the office and let him know you're coming?"

"No, that's quite alright." Gracia almost bit her lip. It had been a while since she'd seen Roy and she was almost scared he'd hide from her. The image of him showing up at her door only to quickly retreat to his car after a few short words still was fresh in her mind. Showing up unexpected would be best if she wanted to catch him. "Thank-you, though."

Gracia's heels clipped softly on the solid floors of the hallways. They would have echoed had it not been for the soldiers hustling and bustling about making noise to cover the sounds. Her grip tightened on the basket handle as she approached Roy's office. Gracia smoothed out the small checked cloth covering the warm contents and tucked the edge in absently. She still wasn't sure if this was the right thing to be doing, but she would find that out soon enough. As the woman stopped in front of the office door, she straightened her skirt and took a deep breath before turning the handle. It was now or never.

Hawkeye looked up from her desk when she heard the handle of the door turning. Checking her watch she frowned. They weren't expecting anyone in the office until much later when Edward got back from his latest assignment. Wondering who it could possibly be, Hawkeye stood from her desk when the door finally creaked open and a familiar head of brunette hair peeked around the corner. The woman standing in the door way gave Riza pause, but she quickly righted herself. "Oh, hello Gracia. What brings you here?"

"Hello, Riza." Gracia smiled as she stepped fully into the office, basket in front of her at the waist. She could feel the eyes of everyone else in the office on her, but she tried to keep from fidgeting. Gracia did not want their pity. Instead, she pressed on with her business. "Is Roy in?"

"Yes, he's in his office. Did you need something?" Riza looked the woman over and smiled softly. The smell from the basket was absolutely heavenly and she had no doubt what was in it. The contents of that basket were possibly the only thing Maes Hughes had never exaggerated about. The others could smell it too, if the looks of glee on their faces were anything to go by. Riza hoped the Colonel had it in his heart to share.

"I just came by to see him quickly." Gracia watched those eyes staring her down. They weren't cruel or condemning, but the questions were very clear. It wasn't often the widow of your boss' friend came to visit for no reason. Gracia could feel her nerve slipping. "But I can leave if he's busy."

"No, that's alright. I'm sure he'll enjoy the break." Riza smiled and put a hand gently on Gracia's shoulder to push her towards the other man's office. "I'll see you inside."

"Thank-you, Riza."

* * *

"Something very bad happened here, Brother." Alphonse spoke softly as he and his big brother stood in the doorway of the empty room. Even if the event had happened weeks ago, the smell was still putrid and hanging in the room. Al couldn't smell it himself, but Ed had to cover his nose to breathe properly. And even with the lights on, the room seemed dark. "I don't like it."

"I don't either, Al." Ed's voice was muffled while he tried to speak through his arm. The smell of dead meat and rotting flesh was making him nauseous. His eyes weren't doing any better as he took in the blood on the walls and streaks along the ground. "These markings look familiar, but the smudges and blood make the circle harder to see. Just about the only thing I can tell for sure is that it was meant for a living thing."

"Do you think he was trying to bring someone back to life, Brother?" Al questioned into the air as he took the first few steps inside. He looked around the room for notes or practice circles, but there didn't seem to be any around. Maybe the alchemist did his research elsewhere and just performed the transmutation here?

Ed slowly pulled his arm down and tried to breathe slowly and get used to the smell and the thick air. He needed his hands to investigate and look through things. His nose would just have to suffer. "That or one hell of a rebound on a chimera experiment or something."

"These marks on the floor look like something tried to drag itself along the floor while the blood was still wet." Alphonse knelt down on one knee to look at the floor more closely. "You don't think?"

"I hope not." Edward almost shuttered and rubbed his arm through the sleeve. "Another homunculus is the last thing we need running around. The others are bad enough."

"But how would we know?"

"I guess we'll have to wait and see if one shows up." Ed sighed to himself and started to walk around the room. "But for now, we just need to figure out who was here and what they tried. If we know that, than we'll know if even what he was doing could create one. We might just have a chimera running around. I'll take that over a homunculus any day."

"I agree." Alphonse nodded and clunked his way to the table on the far side of the room. Still no books or notes. Just an empty table and pieces of chalk littered about the room were all he could see. "Isn't it weird that there's no papers or anything in here? There's no way he just drew that circle without practice, is there?"

Ed snorted. "It would explain why the rebound was so nasty if he did." The young blonde squat on his heels and frowned at the circle on the ground. The work was intricate and precise from what he could see. Whoever this guy was, he knew what he was doing. "We should find out who was renting this room."

"Okay." Al paused. "Hey Brother?"

"Yeah, Al?"

"If it is a homunculus, what are we going to do?"

"Add him to our list and hope for the best." Ed took in a deep breath and rolled up his sleeves to keep them from getting filthy. Blood wasn't the only thing making this room a mess. The mold and dirt that covered the non-red sections of the floor was just as bad. It was disgusting; the perfect location for the sins this alchemist tried to commit. "Now let's get looking for clues!"

* * *

"Gracia?" Roy knew the confusion he felt had leaked into his voice when he saw the woman walk into his office after Hawkeye. Roy found himself immediately standing on his feet to greet the woman properly. Though, he would not deny he was nervous and knew he was rubbing his fingers together on instinct. He hadn't had a proper conversation with Gracia since the funeral. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no." Gracia shook her head and smiled. Things were worse than she thought if the only reason Roy could think of for her to visit was bad news. "Nothing's wrong. I just dropped by to see how you were."

Roy's sigh of relief was very noticeable, but he didn't really care. But now he was baffled as to why the woman was here to see him. Had he done something wrong? Did she know more about Hughes' death and what he was doing when he died? "Ah, I'm glad nothing's the matter than."

Riza watched Roy's eyes and saw the confusion and fear. She thought it best to let them be alone for now. "I'll leave you, then."

The silence after Hawkeye closed the office door was almost overbearing as the two looked at each other. Roy swallowed tightly and tried to smile. "Have a seat, please."

"Thank-you." Gracia walked over to the desk and sat the basket down on the corner before walking over to the Colonel's couch. She sat with her hands in her lap and blushed in embarrassment as Roy looked at the basket. Maybe it had been too much. "That's for you."

Roy lifted the corner of the fabric and blinked down at the warm, steaming pastry. The wonderful smell that had been just a hint earlier was released completely once it's fabric prison was removed. Roy breathed it in and saw images of Maes carrying a similar basket and munching on a slice flash by his eyes. Roy hoped his voice sounded smooth and didn't hint at the tightening of his breath. "This looks wonderful. May I ask what the occasion is?"

"It's nothing special, if you take the cover off entirely you'll notice it's only half a pie." Gracia bit her lip. "I made it for Elysia and her friend this morning for lunch and they only managed to eat half. I didn't want it to go to waste and I remember Maes said you liked my pie."

Roy noticed the later part of her sentence was soft and that she started to wring her hands. The knot in his own throat was tight as well. "It's hard not to enjoy your cooking. Thank-you."

Gracia waited for him to say something else, but he seemed to be silent. His shoulders were hunched and the very proud man who was her husband's best friend and favorite topic of conversation (outside of their Elysia, of course) did not look like himself. He looked lonely. When she started talking it was sudden and almost forced. "Would you like to come over for dinner tonight, Roy?"

"Ah?" Roy tried to find the right words, but they wouldn't come. Gracia was looking hopeful and her shoulders were back straighter as she sat up. "I'm not sure if-"

"It'll be fine, Roy." Gracia interrupted and stood up. "You used to come over all the time."

Roy looked at her and wondered why she was pressing this issue. He had always come over before because Maes dragged him there to show off his daughter or his wife's cooking in person. Without Maes Hughes, Roy couldn't help but think dinner with Gracia would be nothing but awkward. "I know, but.-"

"Besides." Gracia interrupted him again. She was not giving Roy the option to say no. Roy wasn't the only one who was lonely. This would be good for the both of them; Gracia was sure of it. If anyone else loved Maes as much as she had, it was Roy. Everyone was being so thoughtful and comforting to Gracia since Maes' passing, but she felt Roy was being left out and needed the comfort just as much as she did. "Elysia would love to see her Uncle Roy again. Don't you think?"

"Alright, I'll see you after work." Roy smiled softly. He had been beaten by a pair of very determined green eyes and found himself utterly defeated. "Where is Elysia? Is she not with you?"

"She's at her friend's house." Gracia smiled. "And with that, I need to do my shopping for the week while she's being watched."

"I'll walk you out." Roy offered and brushed past the woman so he could open the door. She looked like she was ready to protest, but Roy beat her to the punch. "I insist."

"If you insist." Gracia smiled softly. This evening would be hard for the both of them, but they needed to do this. Their walk to the front door of the building was quiet, but Gracia didn't mind. They'd have plenty of time to talk over dinner when the time came.

* * *

"So this is where you've been." Envy laughed as she saw Greed leaning against a tree casually. He had apparently stolen a new set of clothing to blend in better with the humans and had a hat pulled down to shade his face. A cigarette hung from his lips unlit; he looked the picture of a vagabond. "You're not human, you know. So what's the point in looking like one?"

"To avoid drawing attention." Greed turned to Envy and smirked after eyeing the man from head to toe. "Unlike yourself. Even disguised as a woman a skirt that short is bound to gather attention."

"Hmph." Envy snorted and walked over to study Greed. For someone born so recently, he had an unusually sense of calm about him. Not to mention knowledge of the world; he was too smart. Had he retained all of his memories so well? What a fluke that would be; one Envy would have to smother quickly if he wanted to get anything out of this man. "Have you thought about what I mentioned earlier?"

Greed nodded silently, but kept his eyes trained on the window he was watching. Inside two little girls played happily together with paper and crayons. He almost smiled watching the little one with green eyes, but knew to do better when Envy was around and watching. "I'll pass for now."

"That's how the last Greed kicked the bucket, you know. Turning us down."

"Turning you down, or getting in your way?" Greed pulled a watch out of his pocket and checked the time thoughtfully. He still wanted to go check on a few things and the best time to do so was fast approaching. Timing was everything when you were gathering information and stalking. Getting noticed is what gets you killed. "You don't have to worry. I have no intention of getting in you or any of the other's way."

"They will find out about you soon enough." Envy shrugged and looked down at the ground. A small insect had started to crawl over his shoe. He kicked his foot out and squashed the bug to the cement in mid toss. "Better make up your mind before then."

"So you haven't told them about me yet." Greed smirked. "I figured as much. And I have made up my mind. I have no interest in being human."

"Aren't you special." Envy grinned. "I'll be watching you. Have fun people watching."

"I will." Greed frowned. Envy was going to be trouble; he felt it in his gut. In all honesty, Greed wanted to kill the metamorphic homunculus, but lacked information on how to go about it. After a bit of experimenting, Greed discovered his own ability to regenerate almost instantly after injury. It was a talent he planned to milk for all it was worth when the time came. However, that meant Envy had the same talent – and the years of experience to top him. "Things are going to get interesting."

But for now, Greed had more important matters that needed attention. Now that his own stalker had departed, Greed let the tiny smile slip onto his face. The little girl was smiling brightly as she colored. It was adorable; a really picture perfect.

* * *

Roy was hesitant as he stood outside of Gracia Hughes' doorway. Havoc had driven him there on his own way out of the office and told him to take it easy. Clearly his nerves must have been written all over his face. Finally, after much internal debate, Roy raised his hand to knock on the door only to be left standing with his fist in the air and a blank look on his face.

"I'm glad you came, Roy." Gracia smiled at the dumb look on the normally stoic man's face. She bit her lip; it was mean what she did. No matter how amused she now was; her Maes had rubbed off on her in all that time. Gracia had seen Roy standing outside of her door from the window and watched him debate internally for a good five minutes. When she finally saw him take that breath to knock, she pulled the door open before he had the chance. "Come inside."

"Thank-you." Roy pulled his hand down and stepped over the threshold. The house seemed empty somehow. The alchemist tried to keep his eyes from falling on the little picture frames littered around the room that held memories that were far too painful to think on at the moment. "How was your day?"

"It was good." Gracia reached up to take the man's coat and hang it on the rack. She noticed he hadn't taken any step further into the house and was still standing at her entranceway. "Elysia had a good time, too. She colored all sorts of pictures while at her friend's house."

"That's good." Roy stood not sure what to do with himself. It would have gotten awkward, but thankfully a bundle of energy came bursting into the room.

"Mommy!" Elysia came barreling to a halt when she saw the guest in her living room. It was Daddy's friend. The scary one. Elysia buried her hands into her mom's skirt as she looked up at the man.

"Elysia, you know Uncle Roy. Don't be so shy." Gracia cooed.

"It's okay." Roy kept his smile on his face. He was an intimidating person; that wasn't anything he didn't know.

Gracia frowned and rubbed her daughter's head. Having your best friend's daughter being scared of you, couldn't have made Roy feel good. "Dinner's ready now, why don't you come and have a seat while I set the table?"

"Alright." Roy prayed for a pleasant evening without any breakdowns. The air was tense enough already and Elysia's reaction hinted at the night going badly. "It smells great already."

"I hope you have room after that pie." Gracia laughed. "I do hope you didn't eat it all by yourself."

"No," Roy suddenly smirked as an intruding through momentarily broke him from the tension of the room. "I was good about it."

"I'm glad. Now come and stop standing in my doorway." Gracia pushed the man towards her kitchen. They were going to have a nice, normal dinner if it killed them. She'd eaten by just herself and Elysia far too many times.

* * *

"Hey, where's the Colonel?" Ed asked as he turned to Riza as she entered the office. Since she hadn't been there when he walked in, Ed helped himself to busting down the Colonel's private office door. To find it empty save for stacks of paper on his desk that need signing and a random basket. Al had hung back next to Havoc's desk to stay out of the way. Ed thrust a thumb over his shoulder to point back at the door. "Bastard's not at his desk."

"Have a little respect for your commanding officer, Edward." Riza shook her head and sat the stack of papers she had retrieved neatly on her desk. She had hoped Ed would eventually stop calling the Colonel that nickname, but some things never changed. "He went home."

"What? But I have a report to make! He's the one who told me I needed to report after my initial study of the stupid site!"

"It's late, Edward." Riza shook her head. "He only left a few minutes early to make an appointment he had with a friend."

"So he's on a date." Ed almost growled. He worked his butt off all morning on a disgusting piece of an alchemic disaster and the Colonel was living it up with some chick!

"No, he's not." _For once._ Riza whispered inside her head. "Gracia invited him over to dinner to catch up with him and so he could see Elysia." Riza paused as she remembered the reason for the visit. "She brought some pie earlier. There might be some left on his desk if you want some."

"Really?" Ed smiled and trotted back into the office to look for anything that resembled Mrs. Hughe's cooking. She made some of the most awesome pie. The basket on the Colonel's desk suddenly wasn't so random anymore. "Yeah! There's still a slice left!"

Alphonse laughed quietly to himself as his brother devoured the last piece of pie straight from the basket. They'd give the Colonel the report on what they found tomorrow morning. "Come on, Brother. Let's go back to the dorm and get some real dinner."

"Sure." Ed nodded and licked the last few crumbs from his fingers with a smile. He'd forgive the Colonel this one time for ducking out. Especially since the last piece of pie had a piece of paper on it that said 'Fullmetal.'


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sleep. Anyway, next chapter is up. I'm exhausted and need to stop writing at odd hours of the night. Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing!

 

"So, you going to listen to my report today or not?" Ed clipped when Mustang walked into his office a little after eight o'clock. After missing him the other night, Ed wasn't taking any chances of meeting with the man. The sooner he gave this report, the sooner he could look further into the case. His investigation documents Mustang signed only gave him permission to look into the scene itself; Ed needed permission to actually go out and talk to people without the police getting on his case. "Or must I wait even longer?"

Roy looked at his watch. Either Edward woke up early naturally or he was trying to get on his nerves. Mustang smiled slightly as he stared at the boy sitting on his couch; it was almost cute when he tried to look superior. Roy yawned into his head and headed for his office chair. "Is this about leaving early yesterday? I could have sworn that piece of pie I left for you would make you forgive me."

"It was a really good piece of pie." Ed smirked and crossed his legs. Al shook his head in defeat in the corner but otherwise stayed quiet. The suit of armor had decided to follow Edward into the office today for damage control, but promised not to get involved if Edward behaved himself. Ed was glad; he didn't need Al taking Mustang's side and he wasn't giving the bastard the satisfaction of an emotional explosion today. No sir-e. Ed was an adult and he could hold a civil conversation if he wanted to. "But no."

Roy almost laughed at the smug smirk on Fullmetal's face, but put his papers down on the desk regardless. He wanted to crack a short joke, but decided he wanted to keep his good mood. Besides, if he kept Edward long enough he could put off his usual boring paperwork. "I see. Well, you didn't expect me to leave Gracia waiting all evening because you chose to give your report in the last thirty minutes of the day, did you?"

"No." Ed mumbled and kicked out his foot. He hated admitting that Mustang had a good excuse for leaving early when he was supposed to be waiting for Ed's report. "That's the only reason you're getting any slack, bastard."

"I'm thankful for your mercy."

"Your tone of voice begs for a metal fist in your face."

Roy smirked and locked his fingers together on the surface of his desk. Good mood; Roy wanted to keep his good mood. Roy smiled politely and looked directly at Fullmetal in all seriousness like he would for any other officer. "While that's all well and good, aren't you here to give a report?"

"Bastard." Ed huffed and sat down on the couch to reach for the folder he had brought. He tossed it over the desk at Mustang and waited for him to open the first flap and start reading. Al watched thoughtfully from the side and Ed cleared his throat. "We don't know much right now. Just that whoever did this knew what he was doing and probably did his research somewhere else."

"I see." Mustang frowned at the report and closed the folder after browsing the contents. It listed a few options for what happened, but he was sure Ed had picked one out as the most likely choice. Roy secretly hoped it was the 'experiment failed and alchemist went splat' option. The rest of the ones would lead to more paperwork and aggravation than Roy wanted to deal with. "What's your opinion?"

Ed frowned as Mustang looked at him expectantly. There was no smirk in his voice and he was watching Ed intently and was ready to listen. The young blonde swallowed slightly; there was something about those eyes when they weren't mocking him that left a different sort of burning feeling in his gut. A good feeling; like Mustang appreciated him and his thoughts. Mustang was looking at him like he did any of his other subordinates; almost as if he liked Edward just as much. A smidgen of pride started to well in his chest and Edward broke into his report. "Well, it's complicated. But I think Al and I have narrowed it down."

* * *

She was still a beautiful woman. Even after months of mourning and living by herself, she still managed to shine. Greed smiled as he watched her from the bedroom window. His memory had not failed him and he found his, well the human he was modeled after anyway, old home. It may have been a sick fascination that came from being a homunculus, but Greed couldn't help but think she looked even more gorgeous when she was crying softly to herself on the bed. Her daughter had said something this morning that struck a cord and the poor woman had lost it. It was endearing and Greed didn't want to tear his eyes from the scene.

But for now, it was early in the morning and he promised himself to check in on his other favorite person which meant that he had to leave her. Maybe later he'd buy her something nice to make up for it. Greed hummed to himself happily as he walked down the street, shaded glasses in place neatly on his face. It was a pain having such a recognizable face sometimes, but he could easily hide it with a hat and glasses. The change in outfit also helped; the whole not recognizing someone out of context deal that afflicted so many people. Which was all well in good, because he wasn't quite ready to reveal himself just yet.

And Greed would reveal himself.

It almost made the homunculus giddy as he tried to figure out their reactions. Fear and confusion would definitely be first on the list for everyone involved. It was after that initial stage that things would get fun. He was sure the little lady would take it in stride. She was young enough to take things at face value. He'd say 'hello' to her first when the time came. As for the lovely lady who looked so good in tears, Greed figured a slightly more violent reaction would take place. Instincts to protect her child would take precedence over her own feelings. Afterwards there would probably be fear and hatred at his very being and the insult he presented. Granted, Greed had no intentions of pretending to be his predecessor; save for the little girl. He could pretend for her.

And then, of course, there was Roy Mustang.

Greed smiled. He had big plans for Roy. The Flame Alchemist would be angry and would attack him. Greed was sure of that much, but he would eventually come to the light and accept him. Especially when he realized his flames and alchemy were utterly useless. Greed had decided that while he had no intention of becoming _him_ , he did like the idea of taking what _he_ had. After all, that was his namesake as a Sin. And it was fitting. The man he was born from was nothing if not greedy; just in a different way. He had goals that he wanted to see come to fruition alongside his ideals of family and friendship. However, those two goals clashed and he failed miserably. Greed was neither human nor weak. He would succeed where the human had failed and Greed would take Roy Mustang to the top even if he had to break his legs and drag him there.

However, there were complications with his goal. While he had assured Envy he had no intention of messing with him, the other homunculi he had mentioned and the philosopher's stone- the fact of the matter remained that they were very much involved with the Führer and the military. Which meant, that Greed may have to wait for that disaster to blow over before he could figure things out. Locking Roy in a basement to keep him out of the line of fire had also crossed his mind. Though that idea was only a rough sketch for his plans. Considering he'd yet to even introduce himself, Greed had plenty of time to think things through.

And then of course there was Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. Greed wasn't sure what to do with that boy. There were mixed feelings where the blonde was concerned and the plans he'd created from these lingering memories. On the one hand, he was very fond of the ill-tempered boy who shared a birthday with the little lady. On the other, that boy made Roy do stupid things that caused him to deter from certain laid out goals. But Roy did like the boy and part of his goals were to keep Roy happy. It was obvious that Roy enjoyed playing daddy to Edward, but that made it even worse when pushing Roy to the top of the food chain was concerned. Roy stopped thinking when Edward was involved. Not to mention, the boy's relations with the other homunculi. Envy had made his intentions toward Elric very clear.

Speaking of, Greed almost laughed as he saw the boy sitting in Roy's office waving his arms and chatting about something or other. Greed leant into the branches of the tree he had climbed into to keep from being spotted and just sat and watched. The affection those two had for each other was cute; cute enough to want to risk tangling with the others of his kind. Greed might just have to work in a way to keep Edward for himself as well.

* * *

"So you think it's a chimera?" Roy nodded thoughtfully and rubbed his chin; he had a feeling the worst case scenario was going to win out. The last thing he needed was a wild chimera running around central. Especially when they didn't know if it was dangerous or not. Roy hated thinking it, but it had crossed his mind during Ed's report that the blood spatter in the room could have been due to a chimera attack instead of just a rebound. "Do you think you can handle chasing it down by yourselves? Or should I assign some help?"

"We should be able to handle it." Ed spoke confidently. If it was a chimera, than there should be no problems. Between him and Al they were plenty strong and smart enough to take care of just about anything some crack pot could morph together. If it was a homunculus, than he didn't need to get anyone else involved with _them._ Mustang and the others didn't need to quite know about those monsters yet. They were after Ed anyway, so the less who knew the better. Besides, Ed had kept his mouth shut about them this long as is; no need to ruin his secrecy streak. "But you'll know if I need help."

Roy shrugged his shoulders and pulled up the permission documents Hawkeye had left on his desk. That woman was always five steps ahead of him. One of these days he'd figure out her secret and blackmail her into letting him have less paperwork. "Should I look for the exploding buildings or the screaming citizens trying to get away from the debris?"

Ed frowned at Mustang's smirk; he had already gone back to being the bastard colonel. And to think Ed thought he could be nice and considerate. Those respectful and appreciative eyes that saw Ed as an equal were buried underneath condescending playful eyes quickly enough. Edward hated the sting in his gut as he was once again reduced to a child to the man before him. Edward wanted to stand as an equal! "Ha ha. Too bad I've heard that before. Your jokes are getting as old as you are."

"I'm only teasing." Roy rose an eyebrow at the sudden hostility. He hadn't even made a short joke today. "Don't take it so personally, or you'll get a hernia."

"I think that's you, old man."

"I'm not old."

"Yeah, yeah." Ed stretched out his arms and noticed his stomach start to rumble. He'd been in Mustang's office all morning and it was lunch time already. "So are we done? Can Al and I look into this full time?"

"Yes, of course." Mustang nodded and signed a quick pass he had dug up during the report. It was clear Edward needed more clearance if he was going to investigate these events without interference. "Show that to the police if you get any trouble. You're dismissed."

"Come on, Al. Let's go hit the mess before we go chase this thing down!"

"Alright, Brother." Alphonse stood up from his place in the corner and waved goodbye to the Colonel. The Colonel waved back and shook his head as the two brothers left his office. They were a handful, but it was worth it.

* * *

"What'chit buddy!"

Greed was shoved into a wall roughly by some soldier dressed in his uniform blue. His first instinct was to rip the man a new one. However, he still needed a low profile and therefore swallowed his pride. It's not like that puny shove had hurt him anyway. "Sorry."

"You should be."

Greed watched as the man continued walking and brushed off his shoulder from where it came in contact with the disgusting creature. The more he watched them, the more he thought humans were despicable and weak. Greed only made exceptions for those few he deemed worthy; and if they were only those from his memories than so be it. They were all he needed; even if they were uncooperative. Greed just needed to own them to feel complete. Speaking of those special people, Greed had remembered what he was doing and smiled. He wanted to buy a gift for the lovely lady; which meant he needed money.

That soldier suddenly became more important. Greed turned on his heel and started to follow the lad quietly, thankful the other man was alone. When he was about a foot away, he reached for the collar and yanked the man into an alley easily enough while covering his mouth so that he could not scream. The young officer struggled in vain and Greed rendered him immobile quickly when he shoved a clawed hand into his gut and dislocated a few organs. The warm blood dripped down his hand and Greed was happy that his sleeves were rolled up. The man started to cough up too much blood to talk or make noise aside from the small gurgles and Greed started to dig for a wallet. He hummed a bit while he was at it.

It was such a beautiful evening for shopping.

* * *

"It's the oddest thing, Roy. Sometimes when I'm around the house I feel like I'm being watched."

The Flame Alchemist nodded as he listened to the voice of Gracia over the phone. About a week had past since he sent Fullmetal out to investigate the transmutation gone bad, but so far nothing had come up. He was tempted to just make Fullmetal drop the case and try something else. Granted, he doubted Fullmetal would actually go along with that plan without a fight. Then again, as long as Fullmetal was tracking down that chimera, whether or not it existed, he was staying put in central. That was just fine by Roy. However, Gracia calling him in the middle of the work day to express her concerns was not so comforting. "When did you start noticing it?"

"A few days ago." Gracia swallowed and looked around the wall to make sure Elysia was still in the kitchen coloring her pictures. "I would have just thought it was my imagination from, well, you know."

Roy did know; the dip in her voice told him exactly what she meant. That anticipation that Hughes would walk through the door like always had still yet to completely go away, even after the months had passed. He imagined it was ten fold worse for Gracia as she stayed in her house. "Yes, go on."

"But this morning, something really weird happened."

"What?"

"There were flowers on my doorstep, Roy." Gracia lowered her voice to keep Elysia from listening. She didn't want to frighten the younger girl. "And not just that, there was a little gold locket attached to the card."

"Did it say who it was from?" Roy set his pen down on the desk. It was possible she was receiving flowers from an admirer. She was still a beautiful lady and single now, even if it was obvious she had no intention of dating.

"No, it just said to 'The Lovely Lady and The Little Lady' on the tag." Gracia shivered and wrapped her fingers around the phone cord. She shouldn't have been so scared of getting flowers, but something wasn't sitting right with her. It was giving her the chills and she wasn't sure who else to turn to. Roy seemed like the best choice. "Do you think it's something I should worry about?"

Roy took a deep breath and tapped his fingers on the desk. It worried him, but he didn't want Gracia to get upset if it truly turned out to be nothing. "I don't think so right now. It could just be a harmless gift. See if you get anything else and if you're still concerned, don't go out by yourself. Make sure the doors are locked, too."

"Yes." Gracia smiled. She figured Roy would say as much; he always had such a level head compared to her husband. It was a comfort she was more than happy to latch onto. "I'll do that."

"If anything else happens, call me."

"I will, Roy." Gracia paused and looked down at the picture of Roy and Maes on the desk. Those two had always been two peas in a pod and she could hardly imagine her Maes without the other man. He was a solid part of her life and she was glad he was coming out of his shell, if only a little. "Thank-you, Roy. For being here."

"It's no problem, Gracia." Roy noticed she had yet to hang up the phone and leant back in his seat. "Was there anything else?"

"Oh, no." The woman chuckled lightly before noting the time. She had zoned for a moment; he must think her to be so flighty after all of this. "Though I do need to go. Dinner won't fix itself and Elysia will be getting hungry soon."

Roy shook his own head and smiled to himself. "I'll let you go then."

"Would you like to come over again? You do get off of work soon, right?" Gracia's voice almost caught in her throat when she finished speaking. Where had the dinner invitation come from? Roy was going to hang up and she was going to fix dinner. Why did she feel the need to keep him on the line? Gracia frowned to herself trying to figure out the implications that could have. "But if you're busy, I'll understand. You were just in here last week."

"No, no. I'd love to eat dinner again with you." Roy said quickly. Gracia's voice had dropped in pitch and he could hear the depression. Not only was she lonely, but she could possibly have a stalker. Roy thought it best to do the manly thing and keep her company. "I'll see you as soon as I get off work."

"Okay. Bye Roy."

He put the phone back on the receiver with a click and stared at it. This would be the second time he'd eaten over at Gracia's house with just the two of them, save for Elysia. Roy sighed and stared down at his unfinished paperwork. It was nothing serious, he was just being there for his best friend's widow in her time of need. Besides, he had other worries. "Hawkeye, do you know where Fullmetal's update to last week's report went?"

"It's on your desk." The woman shouted from the outer office and shook her head when she heard a 'found it!' come from the back. That man was hopeless. Though, she had been listening to his earlier conversation. Roy was going over to Gracia's again. A month or so ago she couldn't get that man to even check up on her, and now he was visiting her twice in a week? For dinner no less. If that wasn't odd enough, Hawkeye had also noticed the way Gracia looked at Roy when she came to visit. She knew that look very well and she knew that Gracia was lonely.

Hawkeye sighed to herself and chanced a glance through the open door to Roy, who was for once working steadily at his desk. There was no way he had noticed Gracia's look; if he had he'd be wallowing in guilt. She hoped that the two of them came out of this unscathed; Hawkeye doubted anything good was coming if they continued to see each other more frequently. The sniper wondered if it would be rude or out of place to invite herself along the next time her Colonel went to visit the widow. Just to help keep Gracia company, of course.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish this chapter were a bit longer, but I'm reminded of my friend's good advice: "stop when it needs to stop" and "there's no min or max for chapter lengths, you know," that caused me to stop trying to force it to be longer. So there you go. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing everyone!

 

Gracia hummed softly as she dusted off her shelves. Elysia was taking a nap on the couch after a tiresome day of play. Tomorrow she was off to her friend's house again to tucker herself out all over again. Gracia didn't mind so much that her little girl was making friends, but it did mean she was alone by herself in the house. Maybe she should get a job. Gracia hummed. The army was actually fairly generous when it came to her husband's passing and she had more than enough to get by for another year yet. Gracia continued her dusting until she came to the photos set up on her shelf. Maes smiled back at her playfully through the lens.

Pictures of her husband and herself, pictures of Maes and Elysia looked up at her and brought a soft smile to her face. Though, it was the image of Maes and Roy that caused her hand to move towards the frozen memories. She lifted the photo gently and stared at the two men. They really did come as a pair. Despite what people believed, Maes had only talked endlessly about Elysia in public. Once they were behind the privacy of their own home the subject was almost always about Roy.

You won't believe what Roy said to me over the phone today. Threatened to use alchemy over the phone, he did. Roy had a meeting with some general today. Do you know any friends we could hook him up with? He needs a wife not those floozies. Roy and Edward were at each others throats today. Roy stole another of Havoc's girlfriends. Hawkeye shot at Roy today. Roy broke down again in his office today. Roy finally took one of Elysia's adorable pictures to put in his wallet.

The phrases were endless and Gracia usually ended up shaking her head and kissing her husband on the cheek. It was almost odd that she was seeing Roy so much now that he was gone. It was like she was trying to replace Roy's stories with the real person. Though, hearing about Roy _from Roy_ was so different it was almost funny. Getting the man to talk was like pulling teeth, but she did like listening. Gracia set the photo back down on the table gently and turned back to her dusting. Thinking about Roy so much was becoming habit. She wondered if Maes was laughing at her getting so clingy and desperate for attention.

It was almost unfair in a way to the other man. She was trying to fill the gap left by Maes with Roy. Gracia stopped her dusting to head back to her couch and her daughter. There really was no other way to put it. She stroked her little girl's hair thoughtfully. Roy wasn't coming over for dinner again until sometime next week and he was bringing Riza with him. That would be good and it gave her plenty of time to think. Gracia was going to need it.

* * *

It was almost insane how easily Greed managed to get a hold of a few military uniforms. It did help that drunken corporals were easy to knock out and find their home addresses in their wallets of which gave access to closets, but that didn't matter much. The man straightened out the freshly pressed uniform and looked at himself in the mirror. It was strangely fitting on him; the irony fully noted as Greed smirked in the mirror. His sharp, shark-like teeth glistened and he ran a finger over his slight sideburns and down to his short beard. The rank tags on the shoulder may not have matched his predecessor, but all military uniforms looked identical anyway. All he needed was a pair of glasses and no one would be able to tell the difference.

Greed was thankfully for the twenty-twenty vision.

Stretching his arms over his head and yawning, Greed stepped back from the mirror and ruffled the hair of the soldier tied in the corner next to the mirror, eyes still wide in fear. He would have killed the man when he commandeered the dorm room, but then he'd have to dispose of the body to avoid dealing with the smell. He had already left one body in an alley, too many more and the military would start looking for him as a serial killer. Keeping the soldier tied in a corner was less annoying and it meant he had someone to talk to until he got a hold of Roy. Even if the poor man shivering had no idea what was going on. Greed shrugged into the thick black overcoat as he headed out the door with a whistle.

After four days of careful stalking and watching, Greed was ready to make his first move. He figured it would be best to get on the good side of the little lady first as she would be the receptive to his advances. If he had the little lady, the lovely lady would follow soon enough. And if not, she could easily be restrained. Though she would come later, it's not like Greed was in any rush. And besides, Roy would take a bit more work. Greed originally thought a fight would be fun, but now he was considering a more tactical approach.

Things would be more fun if Roy came on board willingly.

And, that Fullmetal boy was going to be more help than Greed had originally thought. Specifically with his lack of communication with his superior officer. Greed smirked. That boy wasn't looking for a chimera anymore. The past few days he was definitely looking for a homunculus and his conversations with his brother confirmed it. Had the circle created a chimera, there would have been a sighting. Chimera were stupid. Shame Ed never turned around to notice the one staring at him from a distance.

"A uniform now? You disgust me."

"Envy." Greed acknowledged the other homunculus with a shrug and kept strolling causally along the street. Apparently Envy had chosen the form of a street bum today. And to think he called Greed disgusting. "Did you need something?"

Envy transformed into a rather smug looking Edward Elric and walked backwards a few steps in front of Greed. The other man narrowed his eyes, but otherwise kept his cool. "You've been watching the pipsqueak. Want to tell me why?"

"He's looking for me and I want to make sure he stays off track. Keeping tabs and gathering information is what I do, remember?"

Envy smirked and the expression looked disfigured on the older Elric's face. It was unnatural. "It's also what got him killed, if I remember correctly. I think you'd have learned."

"I have. My plans are slightly more informed." Greed changed tactics and smiled. He stopped walking abruptly to match his sudden change in topic. "But I do have a question for you. Have you told your little crew about me yet?"

Envy smirked and pushed a blonde braid over his shoulder. For someone so young, Greed certainly acted like he was completely in control. Dante chalked it up to his full set of accessible memories, which she still wanted to know how he managed to keep. Envy just thought it was a pain in the ass. "I informed the boss, but none of the little peons know."

Greed considered if he should take that as trustworthy information and decided it was probably true. It was in Envy's best interest to keep this to himself, unless there was some other benefit Greed had yet to think of. "Any messages for me then?"

"Keep away from Fullmetal and the Führer." Envy inspected a newly formed dagger at the end of his 'auto-mail' carefully with a nail. He flicked the tip to make a little ring and cocked his head to the side. "Do that and she really doesn't care what you do."

 _The Führer?_ The gears in Greed's mind started turning. His big plans for Roy would definitely conflict with _that_ particular subject. He figured out the secretary was a homunculus from his memories, but he never imagined it went all the way up to the Head of State. Greed would have to make plans to work around that. Or lock Roy in a closet until this whole philosopher's stone nonsense was done. That was always an option. "No problem."

"Good." Envy smiled and started to head off in another direction. Fullmetal wasn't the only alchemist he needed to hackle about the red water and the stones. "Catch ya' later."

Greed shoved his hands into the uniform pockets as the fake Ed wandered off. It seems his work was going to be cut out for him in the future. But he'd cross that bridge when he came to it; for now his plans were still a go and he had someone to visit. He got all dressed up so he definitely didn't want to miss his date. Greed smiled as he slicked his hair back; it was a beautiful day.

* * *

Roy sighed to himself and signed another paper of what seemed to be an endless stack. The woman had already invited him over again next week for dinner already. If the pattern was forming the way Roy figured, dinner with Gracia was looking to become a weekly thing. At least next week he was going to bring Hawkeye with him as well. He wasn't sure how she knew he was going to ask her to come, but she said yes fast enough to tell Roy she had been expecting it. The colonel was grateful to her in all honesty. Yesterday's dinner was rather, well too cozy for his liking. It felt weird to have dinner alone with his best friend's wife, even if it was sort of nice.

Just about the only thing that made him feel good was how much better she had been looking lately. Gracia was still depressed, but for a few moments Roy could tell she was really smiling as she asked him about his day and his co-workers. Elysia helped with that, too of course; it wasn't all in Roy's visits. It was amazing how mothers held themselves together for their children. Roy smiled softly to himself and rubbed the space between his eyes. While Gracia might be feeling better, hell she even hugged him good-bye last time, Roy still felt tired. He needed to find himself a sweet little something whose name he wouldn't have to remember and just-

Roy shook his head and looked back down at his papers. He needed to get this work done and get home to sleep. A good night's sleep would fix everything better than some night with a floozie that was probably one of Havoc's ex-girlfriends.

"Hey, Colonel. Got a minute?"

"Fullmetal." Roy acknowledged as a blond head popped out from behind his office door. He waved the boy inside with a smile and set the papers aside for the moment. For once Fullmetal neither banged his door down nor yelled or called him an inappropriate name. Roy was more than happy to be friendly for once. "I wasn't expecting you today."

"Yeah, I know." Ed closed the door behind him. He almost shuffled his feet but resisted. Alphonse had been pestering him for days now to take it easy. All they'd found out was the last person who rented the apartment, but the man was alive and well and seemingly had no connection to the lunatic who made the circles. No notes, no other names, no nothing but a bloody room and an alchemic circle. But, Ed being stubborn as usual kept looking for more information non-stop because of the other conclusion they'd figured out.

They were definitely looking for a homunculus. After re-examining the apartment, they finally noticed the handprints in the blood. You can't make a handprint if you were the blood spatter. After separating the blood from the floor, the circle was also much easier to see. In a way, Ed was lucky the man had used paint instead of chalk, but he wasn't lucky in confirming what he had feared. The circle wasn't for a chimera and Ed had nearly lost it in either anger or nausea when he figured out what was on the floor. Though, there was no way he could tell Mustang about the homunculus without telling him about Envy, Greed or the others. And he hoped he never had to, so for now the chimera story had to stick.

"Was there something or are you going to stare at me all day?" Roy laughed a bit and crossed his hands on the desk. Fullmetal was clearly tired and it was obvious in his demeanor. The boy needed a break; maybe Roy should assign him some help for the case or force him to take some time off.

"Al wanted to know what you were doing for dinner." Ed spurted out after coming from his stupor. He hadn't meant to zone out like that in front of Mustang. _Damn!_ "And if you wanted to come over."

"Did he now?" What was it with the dinner invitations? Roy nearly laughed as Ed pouted and tried to look smaller than he already was. If that was even possible. Roy bit his lip to keep from saying that last thought out loud. He was being nice. "What's with the face? Dinner with me wasn't that bad last time was it?"

"No." Ed frowned. He still didn't know why Al wanted to eat dinner with the Colonel in the first place. Its not like they were ever that chummy before. In fact, they'd never invited him over before! _Because you said you liked eating dinner with him last time._ Al's words echoed in his head and Ed shoved his hands in his pockets. "Al just suggested it. Its not like you have to come."

"Actually, I think that'd be nice. Why don't I make stew again? You liked it well enough last time." The Colonel chuckled. He remembered quite well the evening at home playing cards and watching Fullmetal devour the stew. It was cozy in a good way and felt familiar and safe. Roy almost had felt like a father, as ridiculous as that sounded. "What was that? Close to a month ago? And of course Alphonse will be there, too."

"Yeah, so that was it." Ed nodded and pushed his hand into his pockets. Roy smiling without his smirk was disturbing. And not because it was creepy, but because Ed realized he liked seeing it so much. It was the same smile he'd worn while they fought over cards and dishes at his house. Even a month later, Ed still remembered it. Ed needed to leave the office before his mind got away with him. "So, I'll see you at seven, maybe?"

"Why so late?"

"Because you've got a huge stack of papers on your desk and Hawkeye said you weren't leaving until they were done."

Roy's shoulders slumped as the smirk slowly worked its way on Fullmetal's face. He should have known there were repercussions for getting off of work early for those dinners with Gracia! He was about to complain when he noticed Fullmetal heading for the door. "Leaving already?"

"Well, it's not like you'll get any work done with me here and I've got nothing else." Edward shrugged. The Colonel was just fishing for some way to procrastinate his paperwork. It's not like he actually enjoyed Edward's company. "So I'll see you later."

"Just hold up." Roy stood from the desk and put on his best smile. "If you help me out we can get out of here sooner."

"I'm not forging your signature."

"No, Hawkeye would spot that." Roy laughed and reached for a stack of papers on the corner of the desk that was slightly mismanaged. He pat it with the palm of his hand and pointed at the offending documents with the other. "But you could help me sort these so I could sign them faster."

"I'm busy."

"Doing what?"

"The human transmutation case. I wanted to go back to the-"

"Nonsense." Roy cut the boy off and walked around the desk to grab his shoulders. "You need a break from that damn case. It's an order, sit."

Ed pushed Mustang's hands off his shoulders. "You can't do that!"

"Yes, I can." Roy smirked and sat back behind the desk. "You can use the couch over there. Just put the papers dealing with the same case files together. It's not hard, they just got mixed up after getting dropped in the hall."

"I bet you did it on purpose."

"Hawkeye was the one who dropped them."

"You liar."

"Actually, he's not." Hawkeye peered into the room at the two boys and noticed the stack of papers. Edward had been in the office for over ten minutes and there hadn't been a single shout or yell. Hawkeye deemed that a miracle and had to see for herself that both men were actually alive and breathing. "It's so nice that you're helping him be productive Edward." Roy wasn't the only one who thought the boy needed a break from that dreadful case. "And this saves me the trouble from doing it when I have my own work to catch up on."

Ed stared at the woman and then down at her gun. He wasn't sure if it was guilt or fear that made him grab the stack of papers and head for the couch. Hawkeye smiled at the two and left, shutting the door behind her. That was when Ed deemed it safe to start his grumbling. "Stupid paperwork, stupid Mustang, stupid..."

"Look on the bright side, at least now it'll get done faster." Mustang grinned and chatted happily over the solid stream of muttering coming from his young Major. "And now my 1st Lieutenant is in a good mood."

Ed continued to grumble as he started to look through the folders. How the hell did he put up with this every day? This was just endless pages of bureaucratic bullshit. "You so owe me, bastard."

Mustang smiled and started to sign his pages with a bit more flourish. Misery so loved company.

* * *

"Elysia! I'm gonna' count to ten and come find you, okay?" A small little red head grinned at the brown haired girl of similar height. When she got a confirmation nod, the girl turned towards the tree and started to count slowly.

Little Elysia Hughes took this as her cue to sprint off to find the perfect hiding place. Her friend would never find her in the bushes close to the road! With that in mind, Elysia dove headfirst into a large bush next to the iron fence. You could see her clearly through the poles from the roadside, but from the yard she was perfectly covered by the lush leaves. She giggled when her friend finished counting and went off in the wrong direction.

However, Elysia heard footsteps behind her and she turned to look up to see a tall man in a blue uniform. He knelt down in front of her on the other side of the bars and smiled softly. Youthful green eyes widened at the same time that a grin spread on her face. The game of hide and seek was soon forgotten.

"Well hello there, little lady."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why is it I can only seem to write when I should be sleeping? As such, forgive any typos and thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm hitting the hay. Night!

 

"Now, this is our little secret, right?" Greed spoke with an uplifted voice and put a finger to his lips. The little girl nodded happily and pulled a fake zipper across his lips. She was just so perfectly adorable. No wonder his predecessor had carried pictures of the darling angel everywhere to show off. The Little Lady was far cuter in person than in the memories in his head. "And why is that?"

"Because it's for your work!" Elysia repeated with glee. "And if anyone knows you'll have to go away again."

"That's right." Greed chuckled and pet the girl on the head. The little lady was truly adorable. "Now, you remember what I told you and go back to play with your friend. I'm sure she misses you."

"Okay!" Elysia popped up from her squat and brushed off her skirt. She gave a salute (just like the soldiers did!) and ran off with a fond "I love you!"

"Love you too, Little Lady." Greed chuckled and waved. That had gone much better than he thought. The little lady was all prepared for his arrival so when he showed up he'd only have to deal with the lovely lady reacting badly to his sudden appearance. Greed stood up from the ground himself and brushed off his pants. He'd save the mother for last, but first he had to go convert his best friend. Greed chuckled and flicked his cap with his forefinger. It shouldn't be too difficult. If his spy work was as accurate as he believed, than little Ed hadn't once mentioned homunculus to Roy. That would definitely work in Greed's favor.

"I just hope he doesn't have a heart attack." Greed laughed to himself.

* * *

"This is bad, Al." Ed mumbled before kicking a wall. "We've looked everywhere and there isn't a single sign of the thing anywhere!"

"Well, if it is a homunculus, than maybe it was picked up by Lust or Envy or something?" Al added quietly. His brother was getting desperate to find their run away _thing_. They'd looked in all the related hotel rooms that the man who checked out the room had rented. Brother had even searched the streets and neighboring rooms. But there wasn't a trace of it anywhere save for the blood smears in the room.

And the red stone.

Al and his brother hadn't noticed the stone at first as it was shoved into a far corner, lost and forgotten. It had probably rolled over there and had been missed. But it was there, and currently Brother had it in his pants pocket. If Al had a lip, he'd be biting it with nervousness. That red stone only confirmed what they had worst fears. They were definitely dealing with a homunculus; no matter how much Al wanted to say 'If.' "Brother?"

Ed sighed and crouched down to rest his legs. Things could not possibly be any worse right now. First, they had a rogue homunculus loose. Second, Mustang was acting really weird. Like he was going out of his way to be nicer to Ed and his brother. The man had come over for dinner and made stew again and some desert thing. That wouldn't normally have been a problem, but it was _Mustang_ and Ed had really liked it. And Al noticed, too. He had teased Ed about it for close to two hours after Colonel left. Ed hung his head between his legs and huffed. There was a homunculus on the loose and Ed was thinking about feelings and Colonel Mustang. There was seriously something wrong with him.

"Brother!" Al tried calling again. No response. "Brother! Hey!"

Ed looked up after a moment and blinked at Al. Ed really needed a nap; he was tired. "What is it Al?"

"Do you think that maybe we should tell the Colonel about this?" Al said quietly. "I mean, if there is a homunculus running around in Central, shouldn't he know?"

"No." Ed's voice was clipped. "He can't know about it."

"But why?"

"If he knows, he'll be involved." Ed sighed softly. "If he gets involved he'll be in danger. He has enough to worry about without this."

"Are you sure?"

Ed smiled at his brother and stood up. He tried to make things convincing with his newly uplifted mood. "No worries, Al. I'll definitely take care of this like I did back in Dublith. Trust me."

"As long as you know what you're doing." Al definitely thought they should tell Colonel Mustang, but for now he'd let Ed have his way. If they still hadn't found the new homunculus in a few more weeks he'd convince Ed to let the Colonel help. "Let's go check the library again and see if anyone checked out a book related to those circles."

"Yeah, sounds good."

* * *

"Thank-you for accompanying me tonight, Hawkeye." Roy yawned into his hand as the two got into the car. Gracia had already seen them out and shut her front door. "I appreciated you coming."

"Are you going to be alright, sir?" Hawkeye spoke quietly. She had her suspicions, but now she was certain: Gracia was moving in on Roy. Maybe the woman wasn't doing it intentionally, but Gracia was definitely flirting and going out of her way to be close and a part of his life. It was almost sad and Gracia had Riza's pity, but not her approval. A relationship with Gracia would certainly be painful for Roy in the long run. He was already showing signs of discomfort now. "You don't look so well."

"I'm fine, really." Roy forced a laugh and stopped just as quickly when his Lieutenant gave him that look he knew so well. "Or at least I will be."

"You know you can talk to me if you need it." Riza offered while watching the man from her peripheral. He looked worn down. "I'm sorry, that was out of line."

"No, no. I appreciate it. I really do." Roy turned to look at his dear friend. She really looked out for him. And now Gracia seemed to want to be doing the same thing, only Gracia wasn't aiming for friend. Roy slunk into his seat and rubbed his eyes. He knew that the loss of Hughes was hard on the woman, but he never thought she'd turn to Roy as a replacement. "Ah, Hawkeye, can you drop me off at the office? I've forgotten something."

"Alright." Hawkeye turned the car around and headed back to the office.

Roy in the meantime, took this opportunity to think. Gracia had most definitely been flirting and Roy had no idea what to do about it. On the one hand, he wanted to be there to support the wife of his best friend in her time of need. On the other, well. Roy had no idea that the support needed was of the live-in, romantic sort. He felt guilty; it was unavoidable. Gracia was hurt and confused and reaching out to the only other close man to their family. Roy needed to avoid doing anything with her that she'd regret later while still being there for her.

When did life get so complicated?

"We're here, sir."

"Thank-you again, Lieutenant." Roy sighed and opened his door on his own. He closed it and tapped on the window. Hawkeye rolled it down and looked at him expectantly. "You can go now, I'll walk home."

"Are you really?"

"Yes, I promise." Roy chuckled for real this time. And Hawkeye must have believed him because she rolled the window back up and drove off. That was good, and Roy really did forget some documents in his office in his rush off to dinner.

Roy trotted through the empty halls before reaching his office, but froze when the door opened. The air in the room was deathly still and Roy instantly reached for his gloves and placed them on his hands. Once secure, Roy took very slow steps into the room while looking around for any signs of movement. There was someone in his office who was very uninvited. "Show yourself, immediately."

"Nice to see you're still cautious. I'd hate for you to lose your touch, Roy."

That voice. Roy swung around to the far corner fingers in snapping position, but his blood drew cold the moment his eyes locked on the figure. Roy could feel his breathing become erratic and his hand shook slightly. There was no way. Just no way. "Couldn't be."

"Aw, don't act so cold. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Roy's voice cracked. "Hughes?"

* * *

"My, you're happy today." Gracia chuckled. "Did you have that much fun at your friends?"

"Yeah! We played hide and seek!" Elysia smiled and ran about the room. She was just so happy! First Daddy came home and told her all about his secret mission and she was so excited! Elysia couldn't wait to see Mommy's face when she met him.

"I'm glad." Gracia pulled her little girl up on the couch and smiled at her. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure Mommy."

"What do you think of Uncle Roy?"

Elysia hummed and scrunched her face up in thought. "He's kinda' scary."

"I see." Gracia sighed. She should have seen that coming. The woman shook her head and ruffled the girl's hair. Gracia shouldn't have expected any other answer. "Alright, go wash up for dinner."

* * *

"Well, that's not my name, but I don't mind if you call me that." Greed shrugged and hopped off the desk he had been sitting on. He put his hands in his pockets and started to walk towards Roy, the man was shaking and had taken a step back. Poor guy was confused and scared. "Don't be so stiff, Roy." Greed smiled and shoved off his razor sharp teeth. "Relax, I'm not going to bite you."

"Who are you?" Roy couldn't believe his eyes. It was, it was Hughes! Just siting there in a corporal's uniform without his glasses. Roy tried to calm his breathing. Hughes was dead. Hughes was dead. _Hughes was dead._ This was just some impostor; Roy narrowed his eyes. The eyes were the wrong color, too. Hughes had green eyes, not purple. The bastard messed up and Roy was going to make him pay. "And how dare you parade around as Hughes! I won't forgive you."

"Now that's mean, Roy. I'll have you know that this is one-hundred percent my own face regardless of the resemblance." Greed faked a pout and put a hand to his chest to emphasize how much he'd been hurt. Inside he was giggling.

"Stay back." Roy shouted and held up his hand again. The initial shock was wearing off and now he was just angry. How _dare_ he.

Hughes sighed and shook his head. He looked Roy straight in the eye and decided the blunt approach was best. Roy had always been a little thick. "I guess introductions are in order. My name is Greed and I'm a homunculus."

"Homunculus?" Roy sputtered.

"Yup, when people try human alchemy the result is an artificial human with the donor's memories and face. In this case, someone tried to bring Maes Hughes to life and well, I'm sure Ed told you what the room looked like after the rebound."

Roy shook his head as the man walked ever closer. The man's face was now inches from his own and Roy subconsciously moved his face back. Now that this 'Greed' was close, Roy could feel something skin-crawling chilly in the air. He swallowed and felt the sheer wrongness radiating off this man's skin. His claim to be inhuman was starting to become believable. "What are you?"

"I just told you." Greed smiled and put his arms on either side of Roy on the desk effectively pinning the man in place. He rubbed one of Roy's gloves with his thumb. This was far too easy. He had expected a bigger fight from Roy than this. Maybe the shock was still setting in. "I'm a homunculus created from the body of your friend Hughes."

"That's insane."

"No, it's quite true. I have all his memories and one in particular is standing out."

"Like what?" Roy shook his head. He must be dreaming.

"The day Hughes died." Roy stiffened and Greed knew it was in the bag. "Hughes found out about the Führer's secretary, not that he knew what a homunculus was, but he knew she started the Ishbal war. He was killed by a homunculus named Envy while trying to call you with the information that would push you to the top."

Roy's eyes widened. "What?"

"Call me sentimental, but I figured I'd come back and finish what he started."

"No," Roy shook his head. "This is wrong."

Greed laughed. "No, wrong was Ed keeping secrets from you. You probably could have saved Hughes from those nasty homunculus had he known what he was dealing with when he discovered them in the first place."

"What does Ed have to do with this?" Where did that subject even come from? This Greed was working too fast and Roy was off guard. He rubbed his face with his hand and froze when he realized the touch was smooth. The man had removed his ignition gloves and Roy hadn't even noticed. "What are you planning?"

Greed laughed and continued. "To push you to the top, and Ed knows all about the homunculus. Hell, he'd met the shape-shifter Envy that killed Hughes before."

"Nonsense! He would have told me!" Roy shoved at the man's chest. This 'Greed' didn't move so much as an inch and merely looked amused. Roy snarled at him.

"Would he really?" Greed tilted his head thoughtfully and smirked. "He even lied to you about me. Saying that circle was for a chimera, really. He's out looking for a homunculus, Roy. It's all connected. Hughes death, Ed's hunt for the stone, your own goals. I know everything and I'll be more than happy to share it with you, Roy."

"Why would you help? You said yourself you're not Hughes." Roy met the man's eyes and almost spit at him. "We're not friends."

"My name is Greed. I want everything including his goals and his friends. I want to be your friend, is that so bad?" Greed shrugged. "That's it, really. And you should appreciate it. I'm a very reliable ally, you know."

"How so? You're sneaky as you stole my gloves, but that only shows you can't fight."

Greed bust out laughing. "No, I just didn't want you interrupting by lighting things on fire." Greed took a few steps back and tossed Roy's gloves back to him. The man then spread out his arms in an open, welcoming fashion. "Go ahead, light me up."

"Are you insane?"

"Come on, Roy. I'm a monster that took your friend's face. Light me on fire!"

"Shut up!" Roy put his gloves on, but refused to be intimidated. "I'm not doing that and you're going to start telling me the truth! This homunculus stuff is insane and Ed would have told me something that important! You're just messing with my head!"

"Than punish me" Greed laughed. "Go ahead. Set me on fire! You know you want to."

"I said quiet! Start talking!"

"I already told you the truth."

"Stop smirking."

"Come on, kill me."

"No!"

"Do it!"

"Shut up!"

"Now Roy! Come on, you did it every day in Isbal. Just snap your fingers and it's over."

"I said shut up!"

"No different from all those little kids, and children."

"Silence!" Roy nearly screamed. He gasped when his fingers snapped in reflex and the impostor claiming to be an artificial human was lit on fire. He watched the man smolder in the fire and had to back up a few steps and ran into the desk. Roy did it. He lit the man on fire. He was a murderer. "What have I done?"

The laughter coming from the flames stopped Roy cold in his tracks. Greed felt his eyes regenerate and gave him the treat of seeing Roy's terrified, horror struck face as his flesh started to grow on his face. He choked out a harsh laugh as Roy's feet gave out and he feel to the floor. "Wow, being burnt alive hurts like a bitch, doesn't it?"

"What are you?" Roy tried to crawl away when that inhuman _thing_ walked over and squat in front of him with that familiar smile.

"I told you, Roy. I'm a monster."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would'ja look at that? I updated. It's amazing what rereading a fic can do for inspiration. Especially for once you don't get the urge to rewrite the entire thing after finishing as what usually plagues me after reading a fic I haven't updated in a while.
> 
> But I digress. Enjoy the next chapter! Thank-you for reading, reviewing and returning after such a long break between sections! Love 'ya!

 

"I think you need a drink." Greed chuckled as he stood up and rounded Roy's desk. He hummed happily as he opened the drawer he knew to contain a bottle of bourbon thanks to Maes' borrowed memories. Many a night had the man in glasses arrived to find Roy nursing a bottle for little more reason than he had a bad dream. Greed lifted it and chuckled as he swished the liquid about. "Hitting the bottle hard lately, Roy? There's only a third left."

Roy continued to stare at this self proclaimed _monster_ that shared a face with Maes Hughes and tried to lift himself to his feet. This 'Greed' was sitting at Roy's desk now, feet on the surface as he tilted the bourbon bottle in his hands inspecting the liquid like he'd never seen it before. Roy had lit him on fire not two minutes ago. He had burnt down to the bone and now he was as healthy as when he first arrived. Was this what it meant to be a monster?

"You definitely look like you need a double right now." Greed chuckled as he watched the alchemist's face. You could practically see the man's brain overloading with information. Greed flipped a glass up from the drawer and poured it full to the top before picking up the glass. He hung it in front of Roy's face with a smile, "Drink up, now."

Roy took the glass on instinct and swallowed before sitting in the guest chair and leaning his head on his wrist. Maybe this was all a bad dream and he'd wake up soon in his bed next to some stranger smelling of liquor. "Why are you here?"

"I want you." Greed smiled and refilled Roy's glass absently encouraging the man to drink again. Roy would be far more manageable if he was drunk. "Not much more complicated than that, really. I want you to belong to me completely as my 'best friend' and as a gesture of good will, I want to finish what your previous companion started."

"I have no intention of belonging to you." Roy hissed before staring at the full shot glass. How many times had he tried to cover up Hughes with this bottle? If that couldn't work, the imposter in front of him certainly wouldn't be able. "You can't replace Hughes."

Greed chuckled and picked up Roy's hand with the glass and pushed it in the direction of his face, a bit splashed over onto the gloves Roy had replaced on his hands. "I have no intention of doing such a thing."

"Then why do you want to be friends? To do what you say you are?" Roy tossed the drink down and shoved the glass away on the table. "If you're not trying to be Maes Hughes, what are you doing?"

"I am not trying to be Maes Hughes. I may have been born from him, and share his face but I am not your Hughes." Greed tilted his head and lowered his voice. Roy needed to be very clear on his this one fact if things were going to work out. "But I do intend to take everything that he had or wanted and make it mine. And once I've taken everything that he ever held dear and made it mine, I'll move on to acquiring the next thing that I desire and so forth. This isn't about replacing someone, it's about leaving him with nothing until no one even remembers his name."

Roy's breath was caught in his throat. Despite the similarity, he could say this was a facial expression he had never seen on Maes Hughes. Something completely unique to the man, no, not human, sitting before him. Roy had seen anger and he'd seen Hughes' own sense of fury and above all he knew the man could be intimidating but this…this was something else. This was murderous; evil. The Colonel had been positive he'd looked into the face of evil before and stood strong, but someone seeing that face on someone he cared about so deeply chilled him. Roy needed to get as far away from this person as possible. The fear was creeping down his spine in a way he had never felt before.

Greed filled Roy's glass a third time, taking notice of the way he had stiffened. Was he coming on too strong perhaps? Not that it really mattered in the end. A cooperative Roy would be preferable, but he could deal with an uncooperative one just as easily. "Nothing to say? That's not like you at all, my friend."

"We're not friends." Roy's fists clenched and he refused to reach for the bourbon glass again.

"Not yet." Greed circled the amber liquid in the glass slowly. "But we will be. For now though, it's alright if you've decided to be stubborn. It won't change the fact we'll be working together."

"Excuse me?"

"Maybe you do need to drop this stubborn streak of yours and pay attention instead." Greed sighed and tried to relax himself to create a more casual conversation. "Hughes happened to take making you the Führer very seriously, I'll have you know. Which means that I too, take this goal seriously."

"I don't need your help." Roy spoke through gritted teeth. Hughes shouldn't have been involved with his plans to begin with. Even if solving things politically was well, Maes idea in the first place. The monster had the indecency to laugh at him. "What exactly is so funny?"

"You don't need my help? A man who's less informed than a teenage boy doesn't need my help?" Greed smirked and chuckled softer. He had almost forgotten his information about Fullmetal and his lies. "Or have you blocked it out that Fullmetal lies to you quite regularly?"

Roy's voice was practically a snarl. "Leave the boy out of this."

"But he's so important!" Greed crossed his arms on the desk. "After all, he's the one in a personal war with the homunculi on his hunt to find the Philosopher's Stone. Edward Elric happens to be very well informed with information he didn't find privy to share with you or one Maes Hughes." Greed paused thoughtfully. Without Edward Elric, Greed could never have been born; he really should thank the boy some time. "Who may still be alive had he known."

"I will deal with Fullmetal." Roy stood and looked down at the other man. He couldn't afford to be afraid when other lives were on the line. Especially when the one in trouble was Edward. That boy had enough on his plate as it was. He didn't need to add the worry of an unstoppable monster to the list. "I am warning you to stay away from him."

"Warning me?" Greed scoffed and jumped up on the desk to give himself the height advantage. Roy managed to keep his calm and stay in place, expression unwavering. Good; future leaders needed a backbone. "What're you going to do to me Roy? I'm indestructible. Didn't your little fire stunt convince you of that?"

"It just means fire won't hurt you. Nothing is indestructible."

"For all intents and purposes," Greed dropped to sit on the desk and put himself eye to eye with Roy, "to you, I am. And I really hope you remember that Roy because I am more than willing to take things in a different direction if you choose to be uncooperative." Greed smiled and grabbed Roy's chin roughly to pull it close to his own face. "If I have to break you like the horse you're named after to make you the leader of this country, than I will be more than happy to comply, Roy Mustang."

* * *

Edward Elric sat looking outside his window biting his lip, rubbing the small piece of red stone in his hand. It hadn't left his pocket since they found it in that old apartment. The Alchemist was scared of letting it fall into the wrong hands considering how much power it had and what he had seen others do with it. Ed tried not to think of how good it felt between his fingers, cool and smooth.

"Is something bothering you, Brother?" Al asked meekly as he walked up behind Edward, clinking the while. This 'chimera' case really had brought down his big brother's mood. Then again, discovering yet another Homunculus was born into the world could do that. Al was disappointed that Mustang coming over to visit more often hadn't lifted Edward's spirits yet. "You haven't said anything for a while."

"I'm just thinking, Al." Ed shoved the stone in his pocket and turned around to face his little brother. Needn't cause him to worry just yet. "Guess I'm tired."

"Have you decided what we're going to tell the Colonel about the case? We've searched this city head to toe and there's no sign of the homunculus. I don't think he's still here, Brother."

"Then we'll probably tell Mustang the chimera left the city and get permission to go hunt him down." Edward clenched his metal fist and listened to steel grind. A constant reminder that what happened in that apartment, and in his own home so many years ago, should never happen. "We need to handle this as quickly as possible before this new one starts discovering his powers like the others."

"But how are we going to find him?" Al questioned, hovering as quietly as he could behind Edward. "We don't even know what he looks like!"

"That doesn't matter Al," Edward pushed himself away from the window and headed towards the bed. If they were going to go chase down a homunculus outside of Central, they'll need the Colonel's permission to leave. What Ed wouldn't give for the freedom to just pick up and go as he pleased. He would miss the Colonel's stew, though. "We can't let it run around free. We should have noticed someone performing human alchemy in Central and stopped it before this even started."

"Maybe we should just let this one be, Brother. We're technically not involved with this one." Al twiddled his fingers together. He hated to let something like this go, but there was no way his Brother could handle taking on _all_ of the world's problems. He was barely keeping up with his own. "So for once, why don't we let someone else handle it?"

"That's not true Al. The Colonel bastard gave us this assignment and we're going to see it through." Ed dropped his shirt on the floor as he started to climb under the sheets. "We're not kids anymore, Al. We have a job to do even if it is a bigger job than we thought."

"Then maybe we should tell him what we're really going up against." Al pleaded. "We shouldn't do this alone, Brother."

"No." Edward replied instantly. "The Colonel and everyone will just be in danger if they know about the homunculi. We can't tell them."

"But-"

"No buts, Al." Edward fell against the pillow. "Just try and get some rest. We'll ask Mustang for permission to hunt down the 'chimera' tomorrow when we see him." Edward turned towards the wall and pulled the blankets up as high as they would go. He was cold tonight, for some reason. "You'll see it'll all be fine. Goodnight, Al."

"Have a good rest, brother." Al sighed and walked over to the wall to sit and meditate. Al had a bad feeling about the next day.

* * *

"You were the one who gave Gracia the flowers." Roy spoke quietly as he sat slumped in the stiff chair, his legs sprawled out in front of him. Things had settled into an awkward silence that lasted a few hours after Greed's declaration to break him as Roy had no immediate response. He wanted to be angry, but he was still frightened, which in the end disgusted himself. Roy needed to gather his thoughts. So instead he stayed quiet in the oddly companionable silence before the thought struck him concerning Gracia. "And the locket."

"That was for the Little Lady." Greed smiled, now once again in Roy's chair, feet propped on the desk comfortably. He could sit here all night now that things were calmer. Considering what type of fireworks he was planning to set off, Greed planned to enjoy every quiet moment he could get. "She would have liked it had the Lovely Lady actually given it to her."

"Gifts from stalkers shouldn't be worn." Roy muttered. "It only encourages them."

"True, but I'm not really a stalker." Greed licked his lips. So all that following them around was probably considered stalking. The homunculus liked to call it research. "Well, not that I'd admit to anyway."

Roy sat up suddenly. Greed had mentioned he wanted _everything_ that had been a part of Hughes's life. And it occurred to him that included his wife and child. "What are you planning to do with Gracia and Elysia?"

"Don't worry." Greed chuckled at Roy's renewed, and completely justified, worry. But he had enough trouble with overprotective Roy over Edward, he didn't need him to freak out over the Ladies as well. "I have no intention of breaking them, though I do plan to eventually introduce myself." Greed snickered. "Well, to the Lovely Lady. I've already said hello to the little one."

"You saw Elysia?" Roy almost stood, but a single look kept him in his seat. The alchemist made a note to figure out how to kill a homunculi. This was worse than trying to fight in the rain.

"Yes, she's very smart." Greed popped his feet into the air before setting them on the ground. It was nearing four in the morning and there would be soldiers arriving for the earliest shifts soon. "She understood perfectly that daddy had an important mission and had to stay undercover."

"You-"

"Monster. I know." Greed snickered and walked past Roy. "But, you and I have much to discuss and no time. So for now, why don't you sit tight and I'll catch up with you later." Greed pat Roy on the head. "I'll be seeing you around."

"Hey wait!"

"Oh! Right." Greed spun on his ankle back to the very confused Roy. It was so much fun drawing all sorts of different little facial expressions from him. He could believe easily that it was Hughes' favorite thing to do. "And by the way, this is a little secret between you and I. So don't go telling your little pet Fullmetal about me. If he can tell little white lies, I'm sure you can manage."

Roy didn't have time to respond as Greed had already disappeared. So not only was he impervious to damage, he was incredibly fast. Roy didn't even notice him leave the room. The alchemist took a few steps back and looked at his desk, the bourbon bottle empty and shot glass still full. He downed it in a gulp and collapsed in his desk chair, warm from being occupied for so long. Roy wasn't quite sure what he was going to do from here on out.

Hours passed since Greed made his exit and Roy didn't see a point in heading home to just turn around and come right back to work. On the bright side, he'd get to see Riza's shocked face that he made it to work on time. Until she put two and two together of course and realized he broke his promise to go home right after picking up his papers. Hopefully she'd have enough sense not to say anything if he left the shot glass on the desk.

Hawkeye was strangely understanding at times.

Sure enough, his lieutenant managed to take one look at the glass, gave him a nod and said nothing more about the subject. He was thankful for her discretion though he was sure he'd be shot at this afternoon to make up for it subtly. Understanding didn't always cover up anger.

It was a shame Fullmetal had decided to make things complicated this morning. The boy had presented him with a sadly, reasonable request. It was sad because after last night there was no way he was letting that boy out of his sights until he had dealt with Greed. Roy crossed his fingers together on the desk. "Absolutely not."

"What?" Edward shouted and slammed his hands down on the Colonel's desk. This was supposed to be easy! Go in, get permission, get out of central and hunt down a dangerous monstrosity. Why was the Colonel saying 'no'? Didn't he trust Edward to do the job? "You said this was my case!"

"And you investigated it. You've submitted a report saying the chimera," Roy was proud that he didn't stumble over the word after discovering Fullmetal's lie, "has most likely left the city. As such I'm reassigning your case to a field agent."

"But it's mine." Edward bit his lip. He was whining like a little brat. That was not the way to get to the Colonel Bastard. He needed to prove he could be a mature adult and argue his case. "I mean. You gave me this assignment and I want to see it through to the end. Quitting in the middle is unacceptable."

"That's not always how things work, Fullmetal. And this is far from quitting a mission; reassignments happen all the time. You started and now it's being handed off to someone else more suited."

"I'm not suited to hunt down a chimera?"

Roy flinched at that word again and took a deep breath. It was almost hard to believe that Edward could, lie, so easily. He was searching the boy's face for any tells that he was lying but couldn't find a one. Roy wondered if it was Greed who was lying, but he needed more information. And to do that, Edward needed to stay in Central. "You're perfectly suited, if the Chimera was still in Central. You believe it has left, so therefore the assignment is passed to someone outside of Central."

"But if you sign this I can leave Central and-"

"No, Fullmetal." Roy cut him off sternly. Time to play the military dog it seemed; Edward needed to remember just who was in charge. Roy shifted his hands slightly on the desk to pull his body forward to look Fullmetal in the eyes. "You neither have, nor will be receiving permission to leave Central at this time. If I find you've taken so much as a step outside of his city I will have you arrested and punished. Is that understood, Fullmetal?"

Edward gaped at the Colonel. This is the same man who played cards with him and made stew? Who was able to create such caring eyes with those, oppressive things looking at him now? "Colonel."

"No buts, Fullmetal." Roy closed the report on his desk and pushed it to the side. He'd have to think of something to make sure if Fullmetal looked up who his case was given to that it looked good. No need to waste a soldier's time when Roy already knew where the monster from the assignment was hiding. "Take the rest of the day off to gather your thoughts. I'll have a new assignment for you tomorrow morning. You're dismissed."

Edward fumed and clenched his fists, eyes burning. He wanted to shout and to yell, but the rest of the office was staring at them and the Colonel resembled a statue. He wasn't budging on this issue. Yet. A new plan of attack then; that's what Edward needed. "Fine."

Roy watched Edward march out with a stiff salute and resisted sighing. He waited for the boy to completely exit his wing of the building before relaxing in his seat and holding his head. He needed to remember to pick up an extra bottle of bourbon before the day was out.

"Sir?" Hawkeye approached his desk tentatively. Something was wrong with Roy this morning. Ever since she saw the bottle and glass on his desk she had been running through her mind the dinner with Gracia and the events of last night hunting for anything that might have set him off into a depressed spiral. After seeing him snap at the Elric boy, she was certain something was wrong. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Lieutenant." Roy looked up at her concerned face and realized he wasn't quite ready to deal with pity or understanding right now. Thankfully for once, he had a good excuse to escape. "I have another meeting I need to be at, if you'll excuse me."

"Sir." Hawkeye replied as Roy made his way from the office and down the hall to see Archer for a meeting concerning Liore. She walked over to the desk and put the shot glass back its drawer and wondered how Edward could have overlooked its presence. Roy's depression was common knowledge among his peers, but most had enough sense to pretend it didn't exist while still being careful. She supposed it was just his youth showing again; most children didn't realize that grownups had problems.

It also did not help that boy was unpredictable and Roy was strangely fond of him. Riza sighed. And now they were in yet another fight, only this one she couldn't quite see the reasoning behind. Why did Roy want to keep Fullmetal in Central so badly? Was there more going on that she knew? Why was Edward pursing this case with so much gusto for something that probably crawled off and died in an alley? So many unanswered questions. Riza straightened her back and headed towards her own desk to finish her work.

Riza Hawkeye would just have to find out some answers.


End file.
